The New Year was just as special as FCMS Graduate

students push their agenda for the future through a din-

ner that was characterized by discussions and ex-

changes with fellow students and staff members. In a

family setting, the students and staff dined together

while raising concerns for the future.

Germany Calling: an insight of how propaganda was

used and documented during the World War II as an

elitist tool to share ideas while maintaining power and

control in Germany through the Nazi German radio

that started in the late 1930’s

The Republic of Turkey now play host to many profes-

sional footballers from all over the world, Sunday Oni-

fade takes a look at some prolific players from the

African continent making their mark at the Turkish

Süper Lig.

In celebration of the annual Interna-

tional Human Rights Day on December

10th, the Faculty of Communication

and Media Studies at Eastern Mediter-

ranean University took to the campus to

raise awareness of how far we have

come and how far we have yet to go to

make the world a more humane one.

Many events were held, both outside

and inside the Faculty and the day was

commemorated with presentations at-

tended by students, scholars, and mem-

bers of the civil society. The overall

goal of the celebration was to enlighten

us about the importance of human rights

in the context of the world we live in

today and presentations covered a broad

spectrum of issues including animal

rights, women rights, LGBT rights,

children rights, disabled rights, press

rights and freedom of speech and ex-

pression.

Of special interest to me was the pres-

entation of the Human Rights situation

in Africa. The panel consisted of four

graduate students from the Faculty of

Communication and Media Studies,

Florence Mesole Folasayo of Nigeria,

Donald Obi Ayuknjie of Cameroon, Sa-

lome Nzuma of Zimbabwe and Sunday

Oluwafemi Onifade of Nigeria. To-

gether they shared with the participants

the plague of human rights abuses in

Africa with a focus on Nigeria,

Cameroon and Zimbabwe. The 1948

United Nations General Assembly pro-

posed that the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights “be disseminated, dis-

played, read and expounded principally

in schools and other educational institu-

tions, without distinction based on the

political status of countries or territo-

ries”. With these African countries

being members of the United Nations,

we expect to see a considerable respect

for thuman rights in these countries and

Africa as a whole.

A continent already invaded by Capital-

ism where the gap between rich and

poor has widened dramatically, the

abuse of human rights becomes a

method used by most dictatorial

regimes – as in the cases of Cameroon

and Zimbabwe where they maintain

their hegemony and control of power by

subjecting the common people to very

little or no basic support in education,

healthcare, food, employment, and se-

curity.

The four panelists equally highlighted

attempts to reawake the common people

and encourage them to act consciously.

The great majority is underprivileged

and they are being tortured, molested –

some imprison without trial. The situa-

tion is monitored by many international

organizations including Amnesty Inter-

national – an organization that has

strongly protested the abuse of human

rights on the continent of Africa.

With human rights advocated by many

local groups and associations within

Africa, the African Diaspora is not ab-

sent. While there is a growing debate

over immigration, there is a vast array

of human rights abuses leading to un-

precedented loss of lives. An example

of this devastating problem is the case

of over 200 illegal African migrants

who lost their lives trying to reach the

island of Lampedusa. The tragic conse-

quences of these events is often pre-

sented as a case of indigenously-gene-

rated poverty within African countries

with governments not able to satisfy the

basic needs of their people thus pushing

local populations in the direction of the

glittering wealth of Europe.

As a matter of fact the violation of the

rights of the people as reiterated by the

four panelists has been a major factor in

the under-development of Africa: be-

cause of selfishness, self-centeredness

and poorly managed resources. As a

way forward, Africa needs to return to

the drawing board and come to terms

with the fact that the development and

advancement of a nation is collective.

The people need their government and

the government needs its people for this

to happen.

Issue: 36Faculty of Communication And Media Studies Student Newspaperhttp://gundem.emu.edu.tr

ENGLISH

December 2013-January 2014

Page 3Page 2 Page 7By Sunday OnifadeBy Abtin BadieBy Valery Njiaba

Respect of human rights: The way

forward for AfricaBy Valery Njiaba

Nazi propaganda radio in

World War 2

African football players in

the Turkish league

FCMS graduate students’

working dinner

FCMS graduate students conference presentation

The New Year at the Faculty of Communi-

cation and Media Studies, Eastern Mediter-

ranean University, started on a good footing

with “achieving excellence” the goal of the

Faculty’s graduate students. Following an

informal meeting among graduate students

and friends, the idea of a once-a-semester

“Graduate Students Come Together” event

was hatched. The first was around a picnic

in 2013 and the second gathering was on

Saturday January 4th 2014!

The gathering took the shape of a dinner at a

restaurant on the Sakarya road in Famagusta

and drew over forty graduate students and

lecturers. The meeting this fall came at a

time when graduate students are feeling the

pressure to excel in their academic studies

through research and the production of pub-

lishable-quality scholarship. The goal of the

organizers – Valery Njiaba, Sara Nasered-

din, and Elnaz Nasehi – was to create soli-

darity and develop relationships among

graduate students of the faculty and for the

dinner to serve as a meeting place where al-

liances could be formed and students with

similar academic interests and goals could

consider working together for personal and

academic benefits.

Following introduction of participants, the

students expressed their joy and satisfaction

for such an initiative and promised to make

this a springboard event for revitalizing the

graduate student study group.

The Faculty staff members present at the

event included Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nurten

Kara, the Vice Dean and Chair of Graduate

Studies, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tugrul llter, Assoc.

Prof. Dr. Hanife Aliefendioglu, and Assist.

Prof. Dr. Pembe Behcetogullari, Chair of the

Department of Radio-TV-Film and Journal-

ism. The Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Dr. Su-

leyman Irvan gave the opening remarks and

spoke of the university’s eagerness to assist

and to work with students, to encourage in-

teresting ideas, and assist in forging centers

of excellence among the graduate students.

During the evening, issues were raised by

students, including Florence Mesole Fo-

lasayo an MA student from Nigeria. Flo-

rence pointed out that the faculty should

communicate more with its students since

communication is the backbone of the fac-

ulty – especially in informing students of

upcoming conferences and calls for papers.

Florence thought that a pro-active stance

was better than expecting students to check

with the university and/or faculty websites

for such information.

Another issue was raised by Elnaz Nasehi, a

PhD student and a research assistant at the

faculty. Elnaz stressed that there was a need

for a graduate office that would help in rec-

ognizing problems and proposing appropri-

ate solutions and assistance to both the new

and present graduate students. It was also

pointed out that plagiarism has become a se-

rious problem in universities and because

learning is an ongoing and continuous

process the students needs to be guided.

Assoc, Prof, Dr, Hanife Aliefendioglu used

the opportunity to announce the journal for

women studies/kadin ArastirmalariDergisi,

Kadin/woman 2000. Dr. Aliefendioglu is

one of the editors of the journal and she

asked students to liaise with her in writing

and carrying out research that could be pub-

lished in the journal. Assoc. Prof. Dr.

Mashoed Bailie, Graduate Coordinator for

the non-thesis MA program Digital Media

and Film Studies and Editor of the

Global Media Journal: Mediterranean Edi-

tion is also calling and urging students to

take responsibility for their graduate educa-

tion and begin research and writing of pub-

lishable articles – not only in the journal of

which he is the editor but for other journals

within and without the university.

The graduate students were excited and op-

timistic about the future of the faculty and

promised to make their mark felt by not just

allowing the faculty of

communication and media studies to pass

through them but also by them passing

through the faculty.

It all started at 10am on December 13th

2013 in FCMS 112, situated just off the

long corridor across from the graduate stu-

dent office on the second floor of the Fac-

ulty of Communication and Media Studies.

Why was I there? What new things was I

searching for? Probably it was a craving to

revisit those old challenging experiences of

filmmaking. The experimental documentary

film workshop, however, offered me more.

We were all surprised by the outcome of

this short workshop when we got together

for the last screening session of our films on

December 17th. The instructor, Nursen

Bakir, believes that she succeeded in her

goal for all of us to “produce and make

something together”. She started this work-

shop with no predefined expectation in

order to be open to surprises and possibili-

ties. She enjoyed the possibility of working

with people from different background and

with a variety of subjects that enriched her

experience.

After the theoretical arguments and screen-

ing of some exemplary films during the first

morning session, we had enough time to de-

cide on our ideas and discuss them in the af-

ternoon session. Most of the participants

suggested themes about their lives to put in

filmic form. Ahmetcan Demirci who was a

bit nervous and unsure before joining the

workshop, manage to tell a nice personal

story about his grandmother by using his

old family photos. Also Abiola Olyelakun

put photos of her past, present and future

aspirations and goals. From the beginning

she was trying to understand the dynamic

and unique nature of experimental docu-

mentaries to be able to produce them in an

effective way.

She thinks she achieved her expectation

through making a documentary within the

short timeframe of three days.

Salome and Mohammad Aboorish drew on

two identity-defining cultural issues;

women’s hairstyles in Namibia and Kufiya

in Palestine. Salome shared with us how her

hair has attracted attention from the ‘locals’

in Cyprus, some asking her how she takes

care of it. So her film focuses on pictures of

women’s hairstyles and how they help to

define ethnic identities.

For the participants, this workshop was an

opportunity to give meaning to their obser-

vations of the world around them. Andy

Sam’s film was a poetic personal story

about his dreams. Srava Hosseini success-

fully juxtaposed dried fruits and plants to

aging human skin. The juxtapositioning of

similar forms to produce a meaning was the

goal she successfully achieved.

There were also some participants who pre-

ferred to try filmmaking in collaboration

with others. Evren Maner, Valentine

Ebuetse Icekold, and Kelvin Yunusa worked

as a team and produced two short films:

Hidrofor, and Mind snowing. Evren Maner

is a film director who participated in this

workshop with Nursen Bakir to make sure

one more time that, "it's the idea but not the

camera that is important. And once more

get the feeling of the freedom of independ-

ent cinema by telling stories in different

ways”. I cannot agreed more with him that

“unseen shots, free forms of angles and

frames are the hardest materials on earth to

put into an order to tell a visual story for an

audience in 21st Century”. He prefers to

call experimental documentary, Neo-realis-

tic avant-garde.

Evren Maner was not the only instructor

who participated in the workshop. Dr.

Pembe Behçetoğulları, Chair of RTVF and

Journalism accompanied us through all the

sessions and Dr. Yetin Arslan produced a

film based on a Turkish Cypriot butcher’s

memories during the 1960s conflict. Dr.

Hanife Aliefendioğlu had her first experi-

ence in film making through the workshop

and told an interesting personal story about

her dream.

It’s fair to say that each of us benefited from

the workshop in our own way. For me, it

was reconciliation with individual filmmak-

ing through using new digital possibilities. I

look forward to future workshops with

more specific focus on technological as-

pects, such as shooting or editing tech-

niques for experimental documentary

filmmaking would open new possibilities

for those who are interested in a more dem-

ocratic, avant-garde form of filmmaking.

December 2013 - January 2014 Gündem

Storytelling: It’s all about experience!By Elnaz Nasehi

By Valery Njiaba

FCMS Digital story telling workshop workshop participants

FCMS graduate dinner quests

A working dinner: graduate students meetto set the agenda for the year ahead

Propaganda has been a ma-

nipulative tool used by rulers

and elite groups to serve their

own interests and to maintain

their positions throughout his-

tory.

Propaganda could be under-

stood as the dissemination of

ideas with the goal of chang-

ing the opinions, views, or be-

liefs of the many in the

interests of the few. Motiva-

tion for the use of propaganda

does not need to be for only

political purposes – it could

also be used to influence our

attitudes toward the economy,

religion, our relationship to

each other or to society as a

whole.

The Second World War is one

of the best documented wars

in history and it was during

this time that the art of propa-

ganda was really defined. In-

deed, the interesting things

about it is that the propaganda

industry was created by

Joseph Goebbels.

There was the immediate es-

tablishment of Ministry for

Popular Enlightenment and

Propaganda in Berlin on 13 of

March 1933 under the control

of its mastermind Josef

Goebbels. This ministry

would control the production

of propaganda activity in

Nazi Germany. Goebbels was

a master of propaganda and

was at the center of activities

in the German propaganda in-

dustry.

Radio developed as a power-

ful means of propaganda in

Germany and especially for

distributing ideas abroad

throughout the war. The tech-

nological developments at

that time enabled households

across Europe and the United

States to have a radio

equipped with medium and

short-wave.

Germany calling, Germany

calling

One notorious plan developed

by the Nazis was to dissemi-

nate its propaganda abroad

and to influence minds

through the establishment of

an English language propa-

ganda radio program called

“Germany calling”. The pro-

gram was broadcast by Nazi

German radio on medium

wave to audiences in Britain

and on shortwave to the

United States and Canada by

the radio station Reichssender

Hamburg. Th program began

broadcasting on 18 of Sep-

tember 1939 and continued

until 30 of April 1945, when

Hamburg was taken by the

British Army.

Lord Haw-Haw

The Nazis decided to name

the announcer of “Germany

Calling” Lord Haw-Haw.

They gambled that the name

would resonate with the aver-

age British radio listener as it

makes fun of the upper-class

English accent. The nickname

was coined by a daily express

journalist to refer Norman

Baillie-Stewart because of his

exaggerated aristocratic way

of speaking. Later Some

British media and listeners

just used "Lord Haw-Haw" as

a generic term to describe all

English-language German

broadcasters. Five different

known announcers acted as

Lord Haw-Haw and they

were Wolf Mittler, Norman

Baillie-Stewart, Eduard Di-

etze, James R. Clark and

William Joyce, who was the

last announcer of “Germany

Calling” and the last person to

be sentenced to death for high

treason in Britain.

Although listening to “Ger-

many Calling” was discour-

aged publicly, it was listened

to by at least 60 percent of

British people after listening

to the BBC news every

evening.

Charlie and his orchestra

Charlie and his orchestra was

a big Nazi propaganda band,

which was only to be heard

on “Germany Calling”.

British listeners could tune in

every Wednesday and Satur-

day at 9 PM. Other names for

the band included: Mr.

Goebbel`s Jazz Band, the

Templin Band or Bruno and

His Swinging Tigers. The ac-

tual title referred to Karl

(Charlie) Schwedler. The

band consisted of 21 perform-

ers and there were 7 guest

musicians. The saxophonist,

Lutz Templin from Duessel-

dorf, was ordered to establish

the band. Karl (Charlie)

Schwedler was an officer of

the Ministry for Popular En-

lightenment and Propaganda,

and he could speak English

perfectly. He sang the songs

with a classic America swing

melody but with satirical texts

where the first phase of a

song was the original Ameri-

can version but then in the

second phase anti-American,

Anti-British, anti-soviet union

and anti-Semitic sentiments

replaced the original text.

First there were only German

musicians among the group

but later at 1940 other musi-

cians were hired from other

countries like Belgium, Ned-

erland, and Italy. One of the

famous songs of the band was

Lili Marleen. In 1943 the

band moved to Stuttgart be-

cause of the bombardment in

Berlin.

Swing jazz and twist dance

is absolutely forbidden!

Since 1935 Jewish, Jazz, and

Swing music were banned in

Germany, but the band Char-

lie and His Orchestra was per-

mitted to perform Swing

music for British, US and

Canadian audiences for prop-

aganda purposes. Because of

the German “racial purity”

policy, Jazz and Swing – orig-

inating in Afro-American ex-

perience – was banned. The

Nazis labelled these musical

styles “Afro-American and

Jewish” in their racist stereo-

typical fashion as inferior

works belonging to "inferior

races".

Karl Schwedler was the only

person able and allowed to

travel to other countries (ex-

cept North America and

Britain) to gather Swing

music samples for his orches-

tra. It is estimated in Britain

alone, over six million people

followed “Germany Calling”.

Eventually, as it became clear

that the program was Nazi

propaganda aimed at spread-

ing their racist messages

abroad, audiences decreased

and the program itself rang

hollow.

This event, which happened

during the second World War

can now be seen from an his-

torical perspective where its

main shaper, the Nazi propa-

ganda Joseph Goebbels used

his considerable creative abil-

ities to further Nazi separatist

and racist ideology. Ironically,

Goebbels experience of being

born with one leg shorter than

the other – so that he was

forced to wear a special pros-

thesis – did not help him to

empathize with those labelled

“different” by the Nazi

regime.

Obviously Hitler did not sin-

gle-handedly organize the

horrors of the Nazi regime.

He had assistance across all

fields and was able to win

supporters for the Nazi party.

There was a point in time

when more than 95 percent of

the German population were

supporters of Hitler.

Propaganda is one of the most

dangerous kinds of communi-

cation as it has the capacity to

win the consent of people

through their emotions and

fears. Through the twentieth

century and now into the

early twenty-first century, the

story continues, but the place

and names change”: Iran,

North Korea, Venezuela,

Ukraine, Belarus and many

other countries are the targets

of increasingly sophisticated

forms of propaganda.

Propaganda can never be

good – it is always an attempt

by a small, relatively power-

ful group, to move the emo-

tions and change the beliefs,

values, and ultimately behav-

iour, of people through their

emotions – it is a form of ma-

nipulation that, at the very

least, proves how little respect

the propaganda communica-

tors have for their potential

audiences.

Propaganda does not have to

be far from us – it is not al-

ways “over there” or pro-

duced by “them”. It can as

easily be produced by “us”

and “here” at home. It is up to

us, as students, citizens,

workers and shapers of the fu-

ture, to take responsibility for

the things we hear, read,

watch and see. We need to

ask the most important ques-

tions when confronted by sto-

ries told by others through the

vast networks of the mass

media: whose stories are

these? Whose interests do

they serve? How might they

be told in a way that provides

a service to the whole of hu-

manity and not just the privi-

leged few?

Gündem December 2013 - January 2014

Propoganda and the manufacture of consent

By Abtin Badie

Home away from home:Cameroonian Student Society (CAMESS)The Eastern Mediterranean University created

student societies with the goal of making in-

ternational students feel comfortable in their

new environments and to cater directly to the

needs of students from all over the world.

Here is GUNDEM English’ exclusive inter-

view with Clovis Mesumbe, President of the

Cameroon Student Society (CAMESS) on

campus, giving us valuable insights into the

association and its role at EMU.

As an official student association, what are

the major roles of CAMESS as stipulated by

the University?

Firstly CAMESS brings together Cameroon-

ian students studying in EMU. When you real-

ize that, as international students, we are in a

foreign country under the umbrella of Eastern

Mediterranean University, an association like

this makes it easier to develop a two-way in-

teraction between administration and the stu-

dents from Cameroon that we represent.

Rather than trying to reach each student indi-

vidually, the university can address the collec-

tive and individual issues of Cameroonians

through CAMESS.

How would you assess CAMESS in terms of

developing its program and meeting its

goals?

In regards to our activities and programs, so

far so good – we have been doing our best. As

you may know, it is a challenge to work with

students from a cultural heritage of over 250

ethnic groups divided under the two major of-

ficial languages of French and English. Here

at EMU we have both French and English

speaking Cameroonian students. Nonetheless,

we have been able to realize some major activ-

ities and events: Assisting incoming freshmen

through the registration process; developing,

and hosting a freshmen welcoming party;

holding our first general assembly and hosting

a Christmas dinner. We also have upcoming

events that are of great importance to

CAMESS, including the graduation of

Cameroonian students in February and our

May 20th National day celebrations.

What is the source of CAMESS’ funding for

its campus and off-campus activities?

Actually EMU is our major funding partner

and this funding is either in cash or kind by

providing us with some logistics and assis-

tance on our various events. The way it works

is that CAMESS submits a proposal of proj-

ects and programs to the appropriate EMU de-

partment and this enables the university to

provide timely assistance to the association.

Some financial support comes from

Cameroonian patrons and we refer to them as

“Big brothers”. They tend to have been in

North Cyprus for a long time and are knowl-

edgeable about the Island. Mr. Fru Asaba is a

good example: he lectures in the Department

of Economics. There is also Mr. Emmanuel

Chenyi and we also have general contribution

of all the members of CAMESS.

As the President of CAMESS, what is your

vision for the future of the association?

My main vision is to unite all the Cameroon-

ian students both French and English in EMU

and across North Cyprus, because we have

other Cameroonians studying in other univer-

sities here. It becomes our duty as leaders of

these groups to bring together Cameroonians

from all over TRNC and to create a direct link

with our country and the government of

Cameroon: together we stand divided we fall.

Apart from campus activities, what else is

CAMESS doing to bring Cameroonian stu-

dents together?

All of our work is aimed at providing service

to the student community. We have created op-

portunities for mini-sporting competitions –

football for example. You know Cameroon is a

great football-loving nation and as the nation

moves to Brazil this June for the Fifa world

cup, we are starting to get ourselves ready for

the world’s number one sporting jamboree. We

have also had the General Assembly – bring-

ing all members together to share ideas and

opinions so as to improve the functioning of

CAMESS. As you know we have a culture of

solidarity centered around sharing and cater-

ing for each other, so we organize in groups

and visit with friends, association members

and others who we have not seen for a while

to find out what is happening.

Who are the members of the governing

body and how long do they serve?

A term of office runs for two semesters or one

academic year. The elections are annual and in

October. Our term of office ends this coming

October 2014. For the cabinet members, we

have President Clovis Mesumbe, Vice Pesi-

dent Abigael Domdjo, Secretary General

Emile Galabe Muah, Finance Secretary

Larissa Kmga, Tresurer Mary Takang, Sports

and Social Affairs Directors Johnson Odinaka,

Jeffery Yamkan and Audrey Nanou Manga,

Education Cordinator Albertine Ngweamaw

and Protocol Director Rodrigue Suh.

How do the Cameroonian students respond

to the activities and programs of CAMESS?

I think the turnout of Cameroonians has been

very encouraging as they show up to most of

our calls and meetings. You know, to bring

everybody together is like bringing the entire

nation together, so we do our best and at the

same time we are happy to see that there is al-

ways a great excitement from our members to

take part in our activities. Any President

would be delighted to see the membership re-

spond to the association’s vision and I am

thankful to all the Cameroonians who con-

tribute in building our Association.

Why are student associations so important?

There is a vital need for student association

like CAMESS because, too quote one of my

lecturers in Cameroon, Prof. Dr. Taric Nchuma

“ there is power in numbers”. It is only when

we work together that we can really attain our

goals and benefit in many different ways.

Being the current leader of CAMESS, how

would you describe the challenges ahead?

In a society or in a community, there are al-

ways those for whom things should be differ-

ent – no matter how you arrange things.

CAMESS, likewise, has to work to encourage

more participation of those who might like to

help reshape it. No society is perfect and so it

is always important to have people who care –

even when they may also disagree with the

status quo. However, if people for whatever

reason, don’t feel the need to participate with

us, we say “if you are absent in the dark, stay

absent in the day”! This means: let’s be to-

gether through the difficult times and rejoice

together in our successes. So I am passing this

message that our hands and hearts are open,

for what we preach and try to practice is love

and unity as we are all here representing out

homeland and its motto: Peace – Work – Fa-

therland. So it’s important for us to work to-

gether and be as one people.

Mr. President, using Gundem Newspaper as

a means of communication, what would be

your call to all the Cameroonian students

and to students in general?

I would say a family begins from the house, it

goes up to the neighborhood then becomes a

community and grows up to be a nation and fi-

nally becomes the world at large. So by start-

ing a little family together we are building

ourselves. Our phone numbers are open 24/7

as are all our other modes of communication.

We are here for the students so give us the

chance to do our job and make our homeland

proud.

What does the President do when not tak-

ing care of CAMESS issues?

When I’m not the President obviously I’m a

student pursuing my degree program, so I

study and when I am free I follow the English

premier league because I am a very big foot-

ball fan with my favorite team being Man-

chester United “ the red devils”. I have some

friends that came with me to the island so

when I have the chance I pay them a visit.

Being the President does not mean I have to

abandon my

old friends.

You have been the President of CAMESS

for five months now, what would you say

are the qualities a President should possess?

A President should have charisma, be ap-

proachable and be reachable. A president

should treat all members equally and every

member should feel comfortable enough to

meet with the President when need be to share

their concerns. Sacrifice to me is the greatest

quality because as a president you sacrifice

everything to serve the students. I am open to

any call even late at night provided it’s to

serve the students.

Are there any issues that the university admin-

istration needs to focus in your opinion?

First of all I want to thank the university in its

effort to honor the national day celebration of

most of the countries represented on campus.

Of course no matter how much is provided,

there is always more that can be done. I call

on the university to provide us with some utili-

ties that could help us better run our associa-

tion. For example, they could provide an

office space instead of us having to move from

house to house. An office on campus would

allow students to meet with us and channel

their issues and concerns more easily. This

will become especially important as we grow

in number. Also the university should use us

as students mediators in matters concerning

students from our various countries so that

when decisions are made they won’t come as a

complete surprise to the association – after all,

it is also our responsibility to see that our stu-

dents are of good character and conduct.

What are the hobbies of the President?

I love watching football, go out for sight see-

ing and movies, I love African traditional

meals so I create time to cook or pay a visit to

our sister and member Helen Ndejieh, that we

commonly call Mami to eat some good home

made food, she is our master chef.

December 2013 - January 2014 Gündem

Cameroon Student Society Pesident Clovis Mesumbe

By Valery Njiaba

Cameroon student foot ballteam

The 25th of December is

said to be the day when

friends and family gather to-

gether to celebrate the mys-

teries of Christmas

according to Christian reli-

gious belief. The day is

marked by lighting the

Christmas tree and, for

many, attending an ecumeni-

cal service. It is also a day

for children to receive pres-

ents from “Santa Claus” –

also known as “Father

Christmas”. Christmas also

reminds us of a spiritual

commitment of love for one

another and the solidarity of

togetherness. Of course

here, in Northern Cyprus,

Christmas is not celebrate

by the indigenous commu-

nity, as the dominant reli-

gion here is Islam.

Nevertheless, some of us

wonder whether an “interna-

tional university” should

take into consideration the

religious affiliation of its

global student body and of-

ficially include the religious

holidays of all communities

represented on campus.

Talking to some students

lately raised the concern that

classes are scheduled on

Christmas day. I congratu-

late the university adminis-

tration for acknowledging

and celebrating the day by

organizing a Christmas din-

ner and party for interna-

tional students. However, it

should be noted that the

event is not well attended by

the huge community of in-

ternational students pre-

cisely because they have

attended classes during the

day and are too tired by the

evening when the party be-

gins.

The issue is that EMU being

globally recognized as an in-

ternational University with

student from over eighty dif-

ferent countries and from

every continents present on

its campus should recognize

Christmas officially – as a

sign of acknowledging the

presence of students from

various religious back-

grounds. Unfortunately De-

cember 25th is

“classes-as-usual” for both

the staff and students and

the day is absent from the

university’s academic calen-

dar.

Because it is not an “offi-

cial” holiday, students who

want to celebrate this impor-

tant event are placed in a

difficult position: to attend

classes and ignore the most

important day of the year to

them, or to not attend

classes and pay the price for

missing lectures – since

there would be no make-up

lectures afterwards. So a sit-

uation like this deprives stu-

dents who usually celebrate

December 25th of their reli-

gious celebrations.

Many of us want EMU to

revise its academic calendar

and make December 25th an

official holiday. What do

you think?

The consensus seems to be

that students would like to

see Christmas celebrated

like New Year and a vari-

ety of religious holidays –

well can we do it? Is there

room for one more holiday

on the academic calendar?

Gaetan Pindjou Neo, a

Cameroonian and MA stu-

dent in Applied Mathemat-

ics said. “I’m a Christian

and I feel very sad and dis-

appointed attending

classes on Christmas day

because this day is a spe-

cial day for me. It was

supposed to be respected

by the school administra-

tion and set aside as a pub-

lic holiday because EMU

as an international univer-

sity with more 50 different

nationalities from diverse

religious and cultural

backgrounds. The univer-

sity was supposed to con-

sider Christmas Day as a

public holiday in order to

allow international stu-

dents to celebrate in their

own unique way. I am at-

tending classes today be-

cause I am compelled to

do so. If I don’t go, I will

miss the lecture, the dis-

cussion and I will lose

some points from atten-

dance. I appeal to the uni-

versity to consider

Christmas Day as a public

holiday – in the same way

that the first day of Janu-

ary is recognized and cele-

brated.

Abiola Christina, a

Nigerian and a B.S, stu-

dent in the Chemistry De-

partment had this to say; “I

am very angry that I have

to attend classes on Christ-

mas day – this is the first

time this has happened in

my whole academic ca-

reer. I did not only have to

attend classes today but I

also had a quiz! This was

very unfair because today

is set aside to celebrate the

birth of Christ by Chris-

tians all over the world. As

a Christian I was supposed

to be part of this celebra-

tion with my Christian

friends. I know that even

non-Christians wish this

was a public holiday too

but unfortunately I am

having a quiz today. My

wish is that the university

would consider this day as

a public holiday in future.

Nzuma from Zimbabwe

and a BA student in Public

Relation and Advertising

responded: I am very dis-

appointed with the authori-

ties of EMU for not given

Christian students this day

to celebrate as a public

holiday. I think it is very

unfair because we as

Christians have very few

days to celebrate in a year

and it would be nice if the

university would recog-

nize them. I suggest that

the authorities meet with

all those involved to see

how this day could be set

aside as a public holiday in

EMU as from December

2014.

Tarkang Mary, a

Cameroonian and an MS

student in Applied Mathe-

matics gave her opinion

too: This is my worst day

as a student in EMU.

Today is Christmas day

and I am supposed to cele-

brate it at home with

friends and extend Christ-

mas greetings to my fam-

ily and all my love ones in

Cameroon, Africa and the

rest of the world. But here

I am going to class to take

a quiz. I think the univer-

sity should do something

about this because it is re-

ally bad and this shows

that the university does not

care about the thousands

of Christian students in

school because when it

come to Muslim feasts

they give up to one week

of holidays, but when we

need only one day for

Christmas they can’t do it.

Wisdom Odinaka, a

Nigerian and a BS student

in Computer Engineering

had this to say: I was very

angry when I was told that

today is not a public holi-

day at EMU. They said

that Christian students can

stay away from lectures

and classes, but this is not

a good idea. I have to at-

tend classes today because

I can’t miss the lectures

and lessons. I suggest that

the authority should de-

clared this day a public

holiday so that all students

can benefit from it and all

the Christians can have

time to celebrate this day

with friends.

Classes on Christmas Day, seriously?By Valery Njiaba and Donald Obi

International students talk about

classes on Christmas Day 2013 at EMU

Gündem December 2013 - January 2014

He was born and raised in Nigeria

and moved to Cyprus in 2010 to

study IT at Eastern Mediterranean

University. OG is an artist who

loves to dance, sing and rap. Be-

sides being famous for his talent,

OG is famous for his look that

most of his fans relate to Usher .

After being nominated in the Best

Dancer” category at the All Nigeri-

ans Awards Night on the 27th of

December 2013, OG shared a little

about himself through a

question/answer session with Gun-

dem.

What is the difference between

working on your music in Nige-

ria and Cyprus?

Working on my music in Nigeria

was a lot easier than in Cyprus.

There are very few studios in

Cyprus and most of the producers

don't really understand the different

genres of music as I do. So if I

want to record I end up making my

own beats, prerecording them at

home and then hitting the studio. In

Nigeria I had access to good stu-

dios, professional producers and

various talented artists. The atmos-

phere was very conducive to cre-

ative production and the promotion

of my music .

What are the most common

things your fans tell you?

They really appreciate my music. I

often get comments like: you are

unique, great job, keep up the good

work. And that's what encourages

me to make even better music.

What is your best performance in

an EMU event so far and why ?

My best performance yet was a

collaboration with Danny B "Get

your drinks on". The energy from

the audience was amazing.

How did you spend Christmas ?

I spent my Christmas working on

my new song "Champion"

What are your 2014 resolutions ?

I plan on working to be a better

artist and making my fans happy

by bringing new and creative ideas

in terms of Music & Dance.

“I've lived the past 4 months in a state of

constant fear and panic. I am nauseous

every morning, often throwing up the

contents of my empty stomach. I am con-

stantly on edge, regret every decision I

have made over the past few years and

want to do nothing more than move back

home, curl up in a ball in front of my fire-

place and never have to make another de-

cision or face the real world again. All this

resulted from trying to decide on a major”

“I had a mental breakdown at the end of

my senior year because I was so far from

home and my brother was experiencing a

severe (and sometimes violent) psychotic

episode induced by smoking K2 incense.

There was nothing at all I could do but

call my mom and have her confirm (lie) to

me that everything was all right”

These are testaments of two EMU stu-

dents who have been weighed down by

numerous problems that university stu-

dents face. Looking at a typical day at the

university, everyone seems to be going

about their business, people are smiling,

chatting and working but behind all that,

there are a handful of students struggling

to look sane.

Freshman year goes by smoothly for most

students due to general excitement and the

curiosity generated by being in a new en-

vironment. Unfortunately, this does not

last for long. While University offer a

wide range of opportunities for students to

grow and mature, some students experi-

ence it as overwhelming because it is the

first time they have been away from their

homes in their lives. Additionally, there

are the pressures of learning to balance

studies with social, religious and everyday

responsibilities.

The problematic aspect of mental illness

is that it is not easy to detect. People with

serious problems are often overlooked but

the problems are very real and need as

much attention as physical illnesses. Uni-

versity students are quite vulnerable to

nervous breakdowns and mental unease

although they may not realise this because

most students’ perception of university is

that it is a big party and that the freedom

granted to them does not come with re-

sponsibilities. Various things may lead to

breakdowns including the change of envi-

ronment – it may become overwhelming

at some point in time especially in the

case of international students. The sudden

flood of feelings may lead to anxieties. Of

course, anxiety is a normal part of every-

one’s life, but if one feels overwhelming

fear and it is affecting one’s life, help is

definitely needed.

Students who feel they were compelled

into an area of study that was not their

choice, are more likely to experience pres-

sure and if not resolved, may sometimes

result in mental breakdown. Also, aspects

of social life may lead to pressures – like

having to deal with people from diverse

backgrounds and other cultures is not al-

ways as easy as it might seem or finding it

difficult to form a common ground for a

relationship with others may lead to with-

drawal. Prolonged withdrawal may lead to

feelings of alienation, which is when a

person purposely stays away and with-

draws from other people, this has a wide

array of side effects, a few of which are

loss of self, anxiety, despair, depersonal-

ization, apathy, loneliness, powerlessness,

isolation, pessimism and the loss of be-

liefs or values. Humans are social beings

and they need to interact with one another

in order to stay grounded. Also issues that

parents have shielded students from in the

past may be difficult to come to terms

with when they have to face them on their

own.

A little stress may be good, it may help to

develop a tough skin and to prepare

young adults for life ahead, but anything

in excess becomes hazardous and no one

is immune to a breakdown. The students

quoted above sought out help are better

now. Their plight can find expression

through this additional quote, “ I know

you say that turning to psychology or

counselling may be construed as weak-

ness, and I also used to believe that, until

desperation drove me to get medicine and

talk to someone.” The Eastern Mediter-

ranean University Psychological Coun-

selling Guidance and Research Center

(EMU PDRAM ) was established pre-

cisely be an outreach to students who

need counselling. The Center was opened

in 1997 as a unit working in direct associ-

ation with the Rector’s office.

Reaching out and talking to complete

strangers about our personal lives may

seem a bit strange or unusual, but for

those of us who are feeling the pressure

and unsure what to do about it . . . the

Psychological Counselling, Guidance and

Research Center may stand between us

and full blown mental breakdowns.

There’s no need to face the challenge

alone.

The procedure is fairly simple: individu-

als seeking any psychological services fill

out an application form and receive an ap-

pointment to meet with a psychologist.

Appointments can be made by either visit-

ing EMU-PDRAM, which is located in

the Health Center or by calling extension

2251. The services are free and are ren-

dered by professionals. Seeking help in

time can make what feels like an impossi-

ble burden easier to overcome.

A celebrity studying in EMU

OG talks to Gündem English

By Meriem Cherraf

December 2013 - January 2014 Gündem

EMU’s PDRAM: Talk to someoneBy Imaobong Paul Ifum

Emmanuel Eboué (Galatasaray,

Ivory Coast)

This 30 year-old enterprising right full

back is a delight to watch. He is best

known for his performances for London

club Arsenal FC. Despite his advancing

years, Eboué shows no sign of slowing

down. He has been a permanent fixture

on the right flank of the current Turkish

champions which he joined in 2011

after six eventful years at Arsenal.

He started out at Ivorian top side ASEC

Mimosas in 2001 before leaving for

ASEC’s parent-club Beveren of Bel-

gium in 2002. Three years of eye-catch-

ing display for the Belgian side earned

him a move to Arsenal FC.

The Ivorian international is versatile

showing ruthless efficiency in attack

and defense on the right flank. Eboué’s

versatility, speed, and trickery have en-

abled him to amass over 400 games and

over 20 goals for both club and country

in a career spanning 13 years to date.

With the 2014 world cup around the

corner, Ivorian fans are surely hoping

that Eboué continues his fine form for

Galatasaray. This may be the last major

tournament for his generation of Ivo-

rian footballers. They’ll be hoping for a

miracle, as this may be the last shot at

silverware on the international stage for

most of them.

Emmanuel Emenike (Fenerbahçe,

Nigeria)

The bullish Nigerian striker is one of the

hottest African properties in Europe.

Speculations currently link him to a

number of clubs in the English Premier

League. He emerged with the golden

boot at the last African Cup of Nations in

South Africa where Nigeria coasted to

victory after a nineteen-year wait filled

with disappointments and near misses.

He burst onto the scene with a series of

scintillating performances during his

stint with Karabukspor between 2009

and 2011. This prompted Istanbul giants

Fenerbahçe to shell out nine million

Euros for his signature, but he was

quickly sold to Russian side Spartak

Moscow for ten million Euros without

having kicked a ball in the Fenerbahçe’s

colors. This was because of the match

fixing scandal that engulfed Turkish

football in 2011.

Emenike was arrested among several

other players and officials. He was glad

to jump at the opportunity to continue

his career in Moscow vowing never to

return to Turkey. Three years of convinc-

ing displays in Moscow led to renewed

interest from Fenerbahçe, and they re-

signed him for fifteen million Euros. He

has put in numerous solid displays for

the Istanbul based club despite a slow

start.

At just 26, the bullish striker seems des-

tined for great things.

The top five African players in the Turkish Super League!Gündem December 2013 - January 2014

There are forty-six players of

African descent currently plying

their trade in the top flight of Turk-

ish football. These players range

from vastly experiences veterans to

budding future talents with great

futures in the game. They con-

tribute to the development of the

game in Turkey while benefiting

immensely from the Turkish soci-

ety. As always in football analyses,

not everyone would agree with the

top five in this article. However,

the fans of national teams and the

teams that they turn out for on a

weekly basis would hardly disagree

with their mention. Enjoy my top

five Africans in the Turkish top

flight.

By Sunday Onifade

Didier Drogba (Galatasaray, Ivory

Coast)

is unarguably the biggest African foot-

baller in Turkey at the moment. The pro-

lific hitman continues to scare defenders

even at the relatively old age of 35. He

was indoctrinated into football having

been sent to France at the age of five to

live with an uncle who was a professional

footballer. Fondly referred to as “DD” by

admirers, Drogba is currently the most

decorated Ivorian player of his generation.

His late but meteoric rise from the Sec-

ond tier of French football to the summit

of European football reads like a fairy

tale. His effectiveness and fitness at 35

can be attributed to the fact that he has

been honest about his age, whereas most

African footballers habitually cut as much

as 10 years off their ages. Little wonder

they often leave the game in their “early

thirties”.

Drogba who is also a philanthropist has

been a fans’ favorite since his days at

Guingamp, taking him to Olympic Mar-

seile, Chelsea, Shanghai Shenhua, and

now Galatasaray. His current deal runs out

in June, but wherever Didier choses to

play next, he doesn’t look like he intends

to wane soon.

Moussa Sow (Fenerbahçe, Senegal)

After learning his trade at lower clubs

Mantes and Amiens, the French-born

Senegalese international signed for

top flight club Stade Rennes in 2004.

He joined Fenerbahçe following two

successful years at Lille in which he

scored 31 goals in 54 appearances. He

had joined Lille for free after six years

of mixed fortunes in Rennes. Two sea-

sons and 31 goals later, they cashed in

on him for ten million Euros.

He represented the French Under 19

and Under 21 sides with little success.

With no future in sight for him in the

French national team, he quickly

switched allegiance to his country of

origin, Senegal. He has scored ten

times in twenty-four appearances for

the “Teranga Lions” as the Senegalese

national team is called. This is no

mean feat considering the fact that he

has to compete with two capable and

experienced strikers in Demba Ba and

Papisse Cisse in the team.

His acheivement has been a bargain

for Fenerbahçe as he has scored over

37 times and assisted 17 times for the

“Black and Yellows” since the move.

With strong interest coming from

abroad, we’ll watch and see where

Moussa plays next, but we can be cer-

tain that he won’t be cheap.

Geoffrey Oboabona (Çaykur

Rizespor)

Godfrey Oboabona is widely touted

as a future captain of the Super Ea-

gles of Nigeria. He has shown a com-

posure and leadership that belies his

age.

At just 24, he is the leader of the

Nigerian defense line with 30 solid

appearances and one goal for the na-

tional team.

The African champion chose little

known Çaykur Rizespor despite in-

terest from some top European sides

including current leaders of the Eng-

lish Premier League, Arsenal. He has

made appeared eight times for the

Rize based side scoring one goal in

the process.

With Rizespor lying uncomfortably

close to the relegation zone, the for-

mer Sunshine Stars of Akure skipper

will not be short of suitors should his

team be relegated.

He is most likely to lead from the

rear as the Super Eagles chase glory

in Brazil 2014 World Cup in June.

Eastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of

Communication and MediaStudies

Tel: 0392 630 16 42E-mail: gundem@emu.edu.tr

Printed at EMU Printing House

PUBLISHEROn behalf of Eastern Mediterranean

University, Rector Prof.Dr. Abdullah Y. Öztoprak

COMMITTEE OF ADVISORSProf. Dr.Süleyman İrvan

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hanife AliefendioğluAssist. Prof. Dr. Pembe Behçetoğulları

Assist. Prof. Dr. Metin Ersoy

EDITORAyça Atay

ENGLISH SECTION EDITOR

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mashoed Bailie

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Mehmet Tok

PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Mert Yusuf Özlük

STUDENT COORDINATORValery Njiaba

CONTRIBUTORSAbtin BadieDonald Obi

Elnaz NasehiImaobong Paul Ifum

Meriem Cherraf Sunday Onifade